Depending on the medical circumstances, reduced pressure may be used for, among other things, reduced-pressure therapy to encourage granulation at a tissue site, draining fluids at a tissue site, closing a wound, reducing edema, promoting perfusion, and fluid management. Further, therapeutic fluids may be instilled or distributed to a tissue site in combination with or in lieu of reduced-pressure therapy. The instillation of such fluids to a tissue site may assist with preventing infection, enhancing healing, and other therapeutic benefits.
Challenges can exist with distributing fluids to and extracting fluids from a tissue site being subjected to reduced-pressure therapy or fluid instillation. For example, tissue sites may vary in volume, size, geometry, orientation, and other factors. Further, access to these tissue sites may be restricted. These and other factors can make extraction of waste fluids from the tissue site and distribution of therapeutic fluids to the tissue site difficult to perform in a uniform or even manner. Further, directional changes in fluid flow between reduced-pressure therapy cycles and instillation fluid cycles can force waste fluids being extracted during a reduced-pressure therapy cycle back into a tissue site upon switching to a fluid instillation cycle.
Types of tissue sites that may present particular difficulties may include locations such as a peritoneal cavity, and more generally, an abdominal cavity. When a tissue site involves the abdominal cavity, a treatment system that may allow for improved and efficient care, and may address such complications as peritonitis, abdominal compartment syndrome, and infections that might inhibit final healing may be particularly beneficial. Thus, improvements to treatment systems that may adapt to various types of tissue sites and orientations, enhance the uniformity of waste fluid extraction and therapeutic fluid distribution, and increase efficiency and healing times may be desirable.